Process of producing soluble albumen powder.



UNITE STATES PATENT orrion.

ROBERT BASS, OF KGL. WEINBERGE, NEAR PRAGUE, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

PROCESS OF PRODUCING SOLUBLE ALBUMEN POWDER.

E No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT BAss, subject of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, re.- siding at Kgl. WVeinberge, near Prague, in the -Empire of Austria-Hungary, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Processes of Producing Soluble Albumen Powder.

Processesare already known for making dered impure by salts and chemicals which remain in them and are deleterious to health,

"or they-have the propertyof absorbing moist-u're from the air, whereby they lose their ',.:keeping properties. The ordinary methods i-of working are further as a rule very expen sive, as the yield from the raw material is either very small orit is necessary to use expensive re-agents, such as organic extractives. The treatment of salt water fish especially for the removal of the fishy odor also causes difficulties.

Now this invention consists of a method of producing an inodorous and tasteless albumen powder'soluble in water from the flesh of fish or animals, which method is substantially characterized by a treatment .with calcium hydroxid being employed; in succession to hydrolysis by means of ammonia, which method obviates the disadvantages hereinbefore mentioned. The albumen powder thereby-produced which is soluble in 'wateris quite inodorous and tasteless'and when used as food can fully meet the requirements of the body as regards albumen.

The absence of bad flavor in the product produced by this process is not brought about by oxidizing substances being employed (such as permanganate or hydrogen superoxid), which can only be again re moved 'Wlth difliculty, and whichalso dole ,teriously change the albumens and convert them into poisonous substances, but by the use of calcium hydroxid following the hydrolysis by means of ammonia. The cal- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1,1913.

Application filed November 12, 1912. Serial No. 730,974.

cium hydronid under these conditions removes all ill-smelling substances and yet on removed, and the ammonia and ammonium carbonate is entirely volatilized on evaporat ing and inspissating the solution. F ro'm the nature of the process it results that it can be carried out very cheaply.

For breaking up or dissolving albumens, superheated steam has hitherto been most frequently employed. The albumen solutions and albumen powder produced in this way have, however, an extremely disagreeable bitter flavor which is known as the so called peptone taste. Attempts have been made to remove this bad taste by the use of oxidizing substances (such as hydrogen superoxid, sodium permanganate, lime and permanganate). In consequence of themtensity of the bitter flavor, however, the intended object is only incompletely attained by these means. Apart from this by such means the substances which cause the bad taste are not removed but only thoroughly chemically changed and this action also extends to the albumens which undergo a thorough chemical change in their constitution and thereby lose to a large extent-their capability of serving as food products. These oxidizing substances can also only be again removed from the solution with difliculty. The bad flavor also arises in similar manner if alkalis (such as calcium hydroxid, potash lye, soda lye, ammonia) be employed for breaking up or dissolving the albumens.

It has been found that the bad flavor produced by the hydrolysis of albumens is based on two causes, and this invention has been formulated on this recognition. Firstly, the

in the hydrolytic disintegration of the albumens which probably has the character eX pressed by the following chemical formula:

R (Albumen) (Bitteralbuminous substance.)

the other hand may again be easily entirely bad flavor is causedby a subsidiary react-ion human use.

produce ammonia according to are employed. Secondly, the bad flavor is caused by a rancid decomposition of the fatty substances and the formation of acids which precipitate linlc (such as stearlc acid, olcic acid, Yalcri'c acid, etc). Now this in- \'eution is based onthe-further discovery, that by hydrolysis with ammonia under comlitions as regards temperature in which steanralone produces no appreciable hydrolysis, flavoring substances of the second. group are alone formed, which may then be remore d by means of time, although the hydrolyzing liquid in anunoniacal hydrolysis does not itself appreciably differ as regards from the other alkal'is. If thercforeth esli'of animals be dissolved or broken up with aminonia, the bad smelt ing solution treated with lime and handled in the ordinary way, a perfectly tasteless albumen powder is obtained such as cannot be obtained by the processes hitherto employed. This characteristic action of ammonia in contrast to other alkalis is ex plainable in the following way: The chemical re-action hereinbefore indicated which produced bitter substancesdoes not in fact known chemical principles for the reason that it is itself a product of this re-action. It does not-do this more particularly at a temperature of under 107 C. where steam alone still remains without any appreciable hydrolyt-ic action. It is however .to; be assumed that the ammonia retards thi sf'reaction for the same reason on -'the principle of the action of masses, when it is present in excess from the first. The ammonia therefore acts purely hydrolytically exclusively on the binding of the esters of the amino acids. In hydrolysis by means of ammonia, only flavoring substances which are capable ofbeing precipitated or rather destroyed by means of lime are therefore formed and if by the present process following the ammonia hydrolysis, a subsequent treatmcnt'with lime-or earth alkali hydroxids is carried out, quite tasteless and inodorous albumen powdcrs are obtained without its being necessary to employ oxidizing substances (such as permanganate and hydrogen superoxid) or reducing substances (such as sulfurous acid), the use of which is always very dangerous in preparing nutritive substances for The process is carried out as an example in the following way: 400 g. of well cooked and minced flesh of sea fish or animals are treated with one liter of water, and as much ammonia solution as will make the solution a 2% one. The solution is then heated in a closed vessel for from -t to 8 hours at a temperature of from 102 up to at most 107 C. The hydrolysis must be carried on until the ammoniacal albuminate formed at the first has lost the property of becoming again insoluble when dried, and genuine albumoses preferably exist an solution.

' After cooling below 45". Q. orto the ordinary temperat-ule,'5 g; of calciumhydroxid any added in the form of milk of lime and allowed to actunder agitation for about one hour on the solution .Carbonic acid. is then introduced, avoiding'anyexcess and if desired after prcrious filtration, and the solution is then filtered preferably by means of kieselguhr purified with alkali. The filtrate is preferably boiled, while air is blown through it, in order to remove any bicarbonat'e formed, and again filtered. The filtrate condensed in vacuo is dried and pul- \rrized. An inodorous and tasteless albumen powder is thus obtained which is soluble in. water and which does not absorb.

moisture when exposed to the air. It is particularly advantageous to add the lime to the hydrolyzing liquid while warm, and to allow it to cool-with it. however in the presence of an excess of calcium hydroxid or other earth alkali hydroxid, gelatinous lime albuminate precipitates are formed which represent a considerable loss of albumen. This precipitation may be avoided by adding while warm only precisely as much lime as is exactly necessary for removing-the flavor. and then al-- lowing the solution to cool. 1A further precaution for-preventing these precipitations under heat consists in a small quantity of soda lye being added in addition to the excess of lime, and thereby the solution made more strongly alkaline, The excess of free soda lye is fibsequently neutralize with hydrochloric acid. Y e In treating the flesh of'sea fish by this process the unexpected result is obtained that the resultant albumen powder is perfeet-1y free from the unpleasant fishy flavor. .The cause of this lies in the peculiarity of the present process that the hydrolizing liquid is condensed in vacuo in an alkaline If this be done reaction of ammonia. The odorous methyl amino bases are normally chemically combined with the albumen of fish flesh, wherefore fresh fish is quite odorless. These basic albumen compounds exist however only in an insoluble form. If therefore the fish flesh be rendered soluble by means of alkalis, all the combined bases are thereby liberated. In this form and in the presence ofother alkalis in excess they are very. volatile and disappear from the solution when evaporated, so that the albumen powder produced according to this process gives ofl? no the same process may be used for producing the material above named from the flesh of other animals without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I declare that what I claim is 1. The process of producing an inodorous tasteless albumen solution from flesh consisting in hydrolizing the cooked flesh under heat with ammonia at the t-en'ipcrature at which steam alone develops very little hydrolytic action and bringing the hydrolized liquid produced into contact with lime and allowing the two to remain for a considerab e period until the reaction is complete, aiter which the lime is removed in known manner and the solution filtered and worked up in known manner.

The p1 of producing! an inodorous tasteless albumen powder, soluble in water from flesh, characterized by the cooked flesh being hydrolized under heat with ammonia, cooling the solution and adding lime in excess, allowing the requisite reaction, and then remoring the lime by known means, filtering the solution, and obtaining the powdered albumen by known means.

3. The process for producing inodorous tasteless albumen from flesh, characterized by the cooked flesh beinghydrolized under heat with ammonia at a temperature not exceed ng 107 degrees centigrade, adding to the hydrolized solution calcium hydroxid and a small quantity of soda lye while still hot.

4. The im movement in the process of producing inooorous tasteless albumen t'rom flesh by hydrohzing the cooked fl0 ll under nesses.

ROBERT BASS.

lVitnesses ARTIHTR ScnwEINBURo, Aoou'u FISCHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. O. 

